Debut Video Capture Review & Free Download

When we talk about software being minimalistic, NCH Software knows exactly how to do that. Debut Video Capture comes in an installation package of less than 3MB. You may look at the size of the package and have lots of doubts on what features it has to offer as a Windows screen recording software (click here to see the FULL list). I will clear any doubts you may have in this Debut Video Capture Review article.

Debut Video Capture is primarily for video recording, either from your Windows PC screen or a media source like a webcam, but can also be used to take screenshots. Being small in size, installation takes a matter of just a few seconds and within a jiffy, Debut Video Capture will be up and running ready for your first screencast.

The moment you launch Debut Video Capture, you are presented with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. By default, the screen capture option will be selected and will display what is on your Windows desktop. From there you can choose the mode you want to work with.

Let us look at the different modes Debut Video Capture has in store and what features you are to expect from each. We will do this based on how they are arranged on the main screen.

Debut Video Capture – Free Download

Webcam Recording

Basically, Debut Video Capture enables you to record video from the webcam on your Windows PC and save in a variety of formats (AVI, 3GP, ASF, DV, FLV, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPG, OGV, WEBM, WMV, iPod, PSP, iPhone, XBOX 360, PlayStation 3, Fast Capture). In addition to that, you can customize each encoder you choose in terms of video and audio compression not forgetting the sound format too. On the other hand, you are provided with video settings where you can resize the video, change the frame rate and also decide whether to use a time-lapse feature. You can also choose whether to include audio or not with the availability of a one-click mute/unmute button. A button with a camera symbol is provided at the bottom if you need to take screenshots of what is being displayed on the webcam and save as JPG or PNG format.

Device Capture

This feature lets you include video from external devices like digital cameras, VHS devices and more. Debut Video Capture is able to detect whether you have any compatible video capture device connected to your piece with an option to set the device specific parameters.

Network Camera

Are you dealing with remote cameras that you need to record their footage? This is your go-to feature. You just need to input the camera URL and login credentials (username and password) to grant access for the footage to appear on Debut Video Capture. Once this is done, you will be ready to start recording the footage coming in.

Screen Recording

Debut Video Capture lets you record your Windows screen in three options; drawing a rectangle of the area to record with the mouse, automatic selection of the window under the cursor and the entire virtual desktop. The entire virtual desktop will be a combination of the multiple displays connected. Besides that, you are also given the option of using previous area selections. Depending on the recording window you decide on, it will be indicated at the bottom right side of the Debut Video Capture window. Better yet, you can take snapshots of the video as the recording goes on. Recording formats, video and encoder options are just like the ones outlined for the webcam section. You can also tinker with the frame rate of the video with a range of between 10-60 frames per second and decide whether to show the mouse cursor when recording.

Extra Features

Debut Video Capture has extra features that give it a competing position among other similar software.

Video Effects – Debut Video Capture comes with several video effects that enable you to give that extra touch to the output. You can adjust the video color, apply filters, flip videos, add watermarks and on top of that add captions.

Camera overlay – When you want to include yourself in the main video, you will use the webcam to overlay yourself and seem like you are a part of the actual main video. This comes in handy when you want your viewer to see you and follow what you are doing or reactions.

Find and Play – This is an all-in-one location for all the recordings done with Debut Video Capture. It is from here that you will be able to play or view recordings, save files in new locations, delete the unnecessary recording, jump directly to either video or screenshot folders among other options

Hotkeys – Debut Video Capture gives you several hotkey shortcuts for the major tasks. With these shortcuts, you will be able to initiate and end tasks faster than when you have to interact with menus. Better yet, you can add your own custom hotkeys if the available ones are not enough.

Scheduling and Limits – You can schedule Debut Video Capture to start recording automatically at stipulated times even without you being available to monitor in real time. Scheduling can be one time, daily or weekly. In terms of limits, you can limit maximum recording time and decide what should happen when the limit is reached

Output Management – This is where you decide where screenshots and videos get saved. You will also be able to decide what hard drive capacity should give you a warning of low space even before you start recording. At the same time, you decide on the file name format to be used when saving files.

NCH Software has provided you as the user with tutorials to train yourself how to use the Debut Video Capture software and how to accomplish various tasks with it. This is some good support so that the user does not get confused or get stranded on how to go about certain processes. I have to commend them for having a dedicated web-page with tutorials.

This Debut Video Capture review has definitely demystified the small file size that may have made you think it does not have any worthwhile features to warrant it as a good screen recorder. It is lightweight with all basic necessary features to kick start your screen recording tasks on your Windows 7/8/8.1/10 PC.